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| Strangling the neck? - Beginner Questions - Ukulele - Ukulele - ezFolk Forums | |||||||||||||||
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Yoik Approved 
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Strangling the neck: I heard this term somewhere years ago and I just noticed that I'm doing it. When playing chords towards the top of the neck I seem to have to press the yoke of my thumb against the head of the ukulele where it meets the neck. After a few chords, like practicing changes D-A-G, I end up gripping the neck like I intend to break off the head  I figure that if it's a common enough problem to have a name, there is a common recommendation to help prevent doing it. Like maybe arching the fingers more or holding the ukulele different? I seem to do better if I hold it higher, but then I end up pressing it against my body which deadens the sound a little. Maybe it's just a matter or strengthening my fingers more? Maybe there's nothing wrong with strangling the neck? Anyone have any suggestions or thoughts?
____________________ __Ukulele Villian__ My other instrument is a pipe My homemade ceramic pipes A forum about simple flutes |
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Will Approved 
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Yoik wrote: Strangling the neck: Rather than squeezing the neck, try to really relax your fret hand, and press against the strings with only the minimal amount of pressure to get a clean chord without string buzz. It takes a lot less pressure than you might think, and it's easier to do so with a relaxed hand. Also, optimize your fret hand position by trying these adjustments: 1. Move most of your hand past the neck so that your fret hand fingers don't have to bend or curl as much. 2. Your fret hand fingers should almost point straight down on the strings rather than lying flat across them. This will give you a cleaner sound because you are fretting with only your fingertips rather than the pads of your fingers. 3. Try using your fret hand angled at about 45 degrees to the neck rather than 90 degrees - your wrist won't have to curl as much, because your fretting fingers don't need to be perpendicular to the strings. Last edited on Wed Jun 18th, 2008 04:15 am by Will ____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ A Bunch Of Coconuts http://abunchofcoconuts.com |
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theBlackman Approved 
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Like Will said. A trick that can help is to take a pencil in the palm of your fretting hand (palm up), now use your thumb to roll it across your palm to the tips of your fingers. Do this until it becomes second nature. Think of the pencil as the neck and the final position at your fingertips the position your fingers should be relative to the neck. You should end up with the thumb under the pencil and directly under the fingertips. As Will said, pointing straight down. The fretting fingers should come down on the fretboard/fingerboard at nearly a 90 degree angle to the face of the fingerboard.
____________________ Let each day start as a blank page for life to write upon. http://ezfolk.com/audio/dusty http://cdbaby.com/all/theblackman http://youtube.com/DustinFLeer |
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Yoik Approved
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These suggestions have really helped. I also switched to trying to keep my thumb on the back of the neck. Usually I keep it ready to use, but I figured I would just try moving it onto the back and practice that way for a while. It gave my fingers a better angle to reach the frets, and I seemed to have more strength. I still think I want to use it for some chords, but if I can make a habit of moving it back when I am done with it...
____________________ __Ukulele Villian__ My other instrument is a pipe My homemade ceramic pipes A forum about simple flutes |
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| ezFolk Forums > Ukulele > Beginner Questions - Ukulele > Strangling the neck? | |
